8 Interviews in the next 2 months...not enough money

[Phantasmagoria]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Let me preface by saying that I am in no way bragging, and am grateful for what has been offered to me thus far, but I am truly aggravated.

Anyway....I have interviews scattered around the east coast and midwest(only two in the same region) and cannot afford all of these flights. Having spoken with many of the schools about rescheduling, it is pretty much out of the question.

Cancel those low on my list? Borrow money? Advice?

 

[Live4Life]

Let me preface by saying that I am in no way bragging, and am grateful for what has been offered to me thus far, but I am truly aggravated.

Anyway....I have interviews scattered around the east coast and midwest(only two in the same region) and cannot afford all of these flights. Having spoken with many of the schools about rescheduling, it is pretty much out of the question.

Cancel those low on my list? Borrow money? Advice?

How about getting a part-time job? I definitely wouldn't cancel any interviews until I had secured at least one acceptance to a school I'd actually be willing to attend.

 

[scottyT]

Sell some things and ask for credit line increases on all your cards. Take out loans from relatives but offer them competitive terms (ie, you WILL pay them back, and with interest). You might be able to cancel some of the later interviews if you get acceptances at the earlier ones thereby eliminating some of the expense.

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

I'd go with borrowing money if possible, heck even from a credit card if needed until you can earn enough to pay it down. Imagine if you cancel 3 interviews and none of the other 5 work out, how could you reapply to a school next year when you'd turned down the interview offer this year? A couple hundered bucks is just not enough to mess around with if the school offered an interview.

Other thought, if the money just isn't there - take a look at the MSAR for the statistics on interviewed versus matriculating students; I'm not planning to apply to Yale because they interview around 15% of applicants but matriculate a far lower percent of interviewed students than other schools, I think around 1 in 8. Some schools are closer to 1 person matriculating for every 3 interviewed, and there are of course always accepted students who do NOT matriculate, 1:3 matriculants versus interviewed seems like darn good statistics to me.

 

[Kaydubz]

This question just made me wonder how ****ing expensive it is for pre-meds in Alaska and Hawaii to go interview.

 

[bioteach]

Credit Cards.

Still paying off mine...but on the upside, I'm in med school now so it was all worth it.

 

[MilkmanAl]

This question just made me wonder how ****ing expensive it is for pre-meds in Alaska and Hawaii to go interview.

You know, if you had good numbers and could count on getting a number of interviews, it'd probably be cheaper to rent a place in the continental U.S. and commute from there. That's pretty absurd.

 

[efitzpat]

If you go the credit route, get a card that has airline miles as a reward. That way, if you fly enough for interviews, you may even earn a free ticket. Definitely sign up for frequent flyer programs and try to stay with the same airline.

 

[veaselhaufen]

I'm kind of in a similar situation except I want to go to all of my interviews.
The problem is that they all want me to interview in september and october and my schedule can't afford me to miss any more days of school.

Has anyone had any luck posponing interviews until novermber or even later? I kind of feel bad asking

I wonder if an applicant pushes back an interview for a couple months if this is viewed by the schools negatively? They might think that I'm waiting for an acceptance to cancel their later-planned interview?

What do you guys think?

Edit: I live near the west coast and all of my interviews are near the east coast. It is expendy and far!

 

[pianola]

Let me preface by saying that I am in no way bragging, and am grateful for what has been offered to me thus far, but I am truly aggravated.

Anyway....I have interviews scattered around the east coast and midwest(only two in the same region) and cannot afford all of these flights. Having spoken with many of the schools about rescheduling, it is pretty much out of the question.

Cancel those low on my list? Borrow money? Advice?

I'm not sure OP; try to find as many flights as you can that will connect directly between two interview places. Good luck .

 

[BlackDr2b]

If your privileged enough ask yo mama and daddy. Sell back a game system. Get a job. If you have a suga momma, ask her! Or if you are a woman and have a suga daddy, ask him!

 

[kappa09]

You could ask around and see if anyone has any airlines miles they would give you. My dad has hundreds of thousands of miles on almost every airline and usually gives them out like free candy when people ask.

 

[veaselhaufen]

You could ask around and see if anyone has any airlines miles they would give you. My dad has hundreds of thousands of miles on almost every airline and usually gives them out like free candy when people ask.

Umm... What's his phone number??

Seriously
PM me

 

[DrBowtie]

I'm kind of in a similar situation except I want to go to all of my interviews.
The problem is that they all want me to interview in september and october and my schedule can't afford me to miss any more days of school.

Has anyone had any luck posponing interviews until novermber or even later? I kind of feel bad asking

I wonder if an applicant pushes back an interview for a couple months if this is viewed by the schools negatively? They might think that I'm waiting for an acceptance to cancel their later-planned interview?

What do you guys think?

Edit: I live near the west coast and all of my interviews are near the east coast. It is expendy and far!

Waiting decreases your chances of acceptance at rolling schools. Try to make them as early as possible.

 

[bobsagat]

I'm kind of in a similar situation except I want to go to all of my interviews.
The problem is that they all want me to interview in september and october and my schedule can't afford me to miss any more days of school.

Has anyone had any luck posponing interviews until novermber or even later? I kind of feel bad asking

I wonder if an applicant pushes back an interview for a couple months if this is viewed by the schools negatively? They might think that I'm waiting for an acceptance to cancel their later-planned interview?

What do you guys think?

Edit: I live near the west coast and all of my interviews are near the east coast. It is expendy and far!

Most places will usually allow you to delay an interview, since it's not usually at any kind of advantage to you, in terms of the application itself I mean.

If your school schedule is a problem, try talking to your adviser and explaining things. This probably happens to more people than you think.

 

[MDman87]

Let me preface by saying that I am in no way bragging, and am grateful for what has been offered to me thus far, but I am truly aggravated.

Anyway....I have interviews scattered around the east coast and midwest(only two in the same region) and cannot afford all of these flights. Having spoken with many of the schools about rescheduling, it is pretty much out of the question.

Cancel those low on my list? Borrow money? Advice?

If there's ever been a good problem to have, this might be it

 

[funkydrmonkey]

Let me preface by saying that I am in no way bragging, and am grateful for what has been offered to me thus far, but I am truly aggravated.

Anyway....I have interviews scattered around the east coast and midwest(only two in the same region) and cannot afford all of these flights. Having spoken with many of the schools about rescheduling, it is pretty much out of the question.

Cancel those low on my list? Borrow money? Advice?

3 words: Mommy And Daddy😀

 

[chemolupusMD]

I agree with everyone. but if you can "ask" any one go with credit cards. I got a new credit card just for interviews (i only have 2 so far) and i am already sweating. 🙁

 

[rjpark2]

If your privileged enough ask yo mama and daddy. Sell back a game system. Get a job. If you have a suga momma, ask her! Or if you are a woman and have a suga daddy, ask him!

LOL! I don't know why but the "suga momma/daddy" comment made me laugh so hard. thanks for making my day.

 

[Wylde]

borrow money.

These interviews have the potential to change your life forever, do not compromise.

 

[majahops]

I've come across two good bits of advice regarding this issue. One made below and another made by one of the frequent UCSF med student posters on here.

1) Accept all interviews and schedule those schools that you desire least later in the application cycle (late October or November, if you're doing it now, if possible). This way, you can always cancel post-Oct. 15th interviews if you should be so lucky to get accepted so early to one of your top choices. Of course, this brings to light the airline-cancellation fees. You might do well to consider going with an airline with more leinent cancellation/change policies (like Southwest) for the later flights - again, IF that's possible.

2) I hadn't really considered it, but a credit card isn't a half-bad idea in this case. If you are a bonafied medical school applicant, then you're likely more than capable of finding ways to earn enough money each month to cover at least the minimums on these things (I used to repair computers for cash in my college days, its an easy way to pick up some quick dough).

Best of luck to you. True, it's a relatively nice "problem" to have... But I'm pretty sure you earned it.

 

[Dulcina]

OP: i would not turn down any interviews before an acceptance. as difficult as it is to go into debt now, I always think about waht i'd do if i turned down an interview, and didnt get in this cycle. redoing the application process next cycle would be infinitely more expensive. I would personally borrow money from friends/family (interest rate is going to be lower than credit cards =P), but if you dont want to depend on others, then credit card is the way to go. or maybe an educational loan?

also, can I ask, what do people think the difference is between an early-september interview and a mid-october interview (acceptance rate wise).

Would one be hurting their chances if they pushed an interview from early sept to sometime before oct 15th? (hoping to catch that first wave of acceptances still)

 

[LizzyM]

Don't bother with the interview/matriculate ratio . What you want is the interview/offer ratio. I don't know where you'd find "number offered admission". Anyone know?

The reason why so few who interview at Yale matriculate there may be that those applicants are offered admission to other top schools as well and they choose to go elsewhere because in hindsight they don't like New Haven as much as New York, Boston, St. Louis or Baltimore, a free ride at a less prestigious school seems better than a big loan and a Yale diploma, and/or they don't care for the Yale System of medical education.

One more thing.... some schools don't make any offers until well after Oct 15. IIRC, some hold all offers until February or March, so don't count on racking up a lot of offers early in the season even if you go on many interviews.

 

[mexdoc]

I only have one interview invite right now, but I live abroad and I can't possibly afford to fly multiple times back to the US for interviews so I asked the school if I could interview in late November or December...I'm hoping that given my circumstances they will be more lenient. If I do get maybe two more invites for October dates I could make a trip back but not just for one invite.

 

[Raryn]

Don't bother with the interview/matriculate ratio . What you want is the interview/offer ratio. I don't know where you'd find "number offered admission". Anyone know?

The reason why so few who interview at Yale matriculate there may be that those applicants are offered admission to other top schools as well and they choose to go elsewhere because in hindsight they don't like New Haven as much as New York, Boston, St. Louis or Baltimore, a free ride at a less prestigious school seems better than a big loan and a Yale diploma, and/or they don't care for the Yale System of medical education.

One more thing.... some schools don't make any offers until well after Oct 15. IIRC, some hold all offers until February or March, so don't count on racking up a lot of offers early in the season even if you go on many interviews.

US News has the numbers for both interviews and offers for most schools (if you're a subscriber). I've been using that to calculate my "chances." (Not that it really matters, I'm going to all my interviews).

 

[linguini]

I hear you on the money issue...wouldn't it be great if you could just not interview and get in...

Since that's not happening, I'd suggest borrowing the money from someone if you are fortunate enough to have that option. I wouldn't cancel any interviews before being accepted, unless you have an interview at a school that you really really don't think you're going to (although if you applied, you're probably somewhat interested). You've probably already thrown 100+ at the school for primary/secondary. This would be a waste if you choose not to interview.

 

[NoMoreAMCAS]

Schools need to switch to phone interviews. Have us send in a picture and then simply interview over the phone. It would save most applicants several thousand dollars.

 

[LizzyM]

Schools need to switch to phone interviews. Have us send in a picture and then simply interview over the phone. It would save most applicants several thousand dollars.

How do I know I'm talking to the applicant?

Body language communicates a lot and that's missing in a phone interview.

I think that interviews conducted by alumni at distant locations might work. Alas, that means that one misses out on seeing the school which is the other purpose of the interview.

As for the applicants who are abroad: some, on the supplemental, or in a separate letter, will note that they are abroad but planning a 2-3 wk visit to the US during [time period]. Don't bother with any time between Dec 20 and Jan 3 as those dates are usually "blacked out" in terms of interviews because admissions offices are generally closed for the holidays, student tour guides are on break, etc.

 

[Dulcina]

LizzyM, maybe you might be able to answer this question, (hopefully😛)

do you think early september and mid-october interviews yield the same acceptance rates? or do you think that even this early in the season, its "rolling", and earlier is better?

 

[drizzt3117]

That is really going to depend on the caliber of students in each interview pool so I don't think you can generalize between such a small time differential. Mid October is still early and schools certainly won't have moved to plan B by then.

 

[LizzyM]

LizzyM, maybe you might be able to answer this question, (hopefully😛)

do you think early september and mid-october interviews yield the same acceptance rates? or do you think that even this early in the season, its "rolling", and earlier is better?

I hope I'm not giving too much away to say that my school doesn't do rolling so I really don't know how it goes at schools that do.

 

[kevster2001]

Bank loan. Dont stack up CC debt

 

[Maxx4]

^It depends on the interest rate. There are plenty of cards that offer 12 months no interest and have airline miles rewards. CC is the better route.

 

[RoyBasch]

I would have a fear of using a credit card, isn't racking up charges on the card not paid off immediately with each month very damaging to one's credit score? Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. Also some medical schools, Medical College of Wisconsin comes to mind but i think there are others, review your credit score after you are "accepted" and your acceptance is only conditional on a high enough score. Something to keep in mind. My advice is try to borrow from family and promise to pay it back with a competitive interest rate.
-Roy

 

[Anatidae]

I would have a fear of using a credit card, isn't racking up charges on the card not paid off immediately with each month very damaging to one's credit score? Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. Also some medical schools, Medical College of Wisconsin comes to mind but i think there are others, review your credit score after you are "accepted" and your acceptance is only conditional on a high enough score. Something to keep in mind. My advice is try to borrow from family and promise to pay it back with a competitive interest rate.
-Roy

It depends. As long as you pay the monthly minimum, usually carrying a balance isn't too detrimental. Of course, if you carry too high of a balance (>35%) it can hurt your credit score over time. The worst part is the interest that accrues, so family loans are much better than credit cards in the long run.

 

[Dulcina]

That is really going to depend on the caliber of students in each interview pool so I don't think you can generalize between such a small time differential. Mid October is still early and schools certainly won't have moved to plan B by then.

I hope I'm not giving too much away to say that my school doesn't do rolling so I really don't know how it goes at schools that do.

ahh, ok, thanks. so i asked ucla (in the least neurotic sounding way possible, though im sure it still came off as semi neurotic), and they seemed to indicate no difference

 

[drizzt3117]

ahh, ok, thanks. so i asked ucla (in the least neurotic sounding way possible, though im sure it still came off as semi neurotic), and they seemed to indicate no difference

UC and other UCs are going to be a bit behind other schools in schedule (except for UCSD), and for them specifically they don't penalize students for interviewing late. I interviewed with UCLA in Feb and still got in...

 

[BlackDr2b]

LOL! I don't know why but the "suga momma/daddy" comment made me laugh so hard. thanks for making my day.

Hey, no prob RJ! It's the truth though. I had a suga momma one time and got a lot of things paid like my deposit for apartment, new phone, PSP, clothes, shoes, other bills, books!!! 😀 It was wonderful while it lasted! Shoot, an airline ticket for an interview would have been easy!!!